Insightful newsletter of Drishtikone: Issue #149 - The Spectacular Art of Self-Destruction

Insightful newsletter of Drishtikone: Issue #149 - The Spectacular Art of Self-Destruction

Photo by Mr TT on Unsplash

“People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.” ― Søren Kierkegaard

Almost every temple in India has a strange figure at the top of the doorway.  A face eating its own body up.  It is called - Kirtimukha (कीर्तिमुख) or the Glorious face.

An upstart Yogi who had acquired some siddhis came up to Shiva and started bothering him and wouldn’t leave.  Shiva was tired of him and he created a demon, whom he ordered to eat that bothersome Yogi up.  The Yogi asked for forgiveness and Shiva asked the demon to leave the arrogant ascetic.

“But what should I eat now?  I am hungry!” the demon asked.

‘Then go and eat yourself,’ Shiva replied.

Soon he saw that the demon had almost eaten himself up.  That’s when Shiva called him the glorious face or Kirtimukha.  The being who ate himself up.

Its not easy.  It takes a certain amount of foolhardiness and utmost devotion.

That is why not everyone can be a Kirtimukha.  So, such an amazing being is the one who meets you when you are walking inside the premises of a place where you ought not to remain anymore.  He shows you the ultimate extent of devotion!  (Source)

Today, the Indian media showed another way to self-destruct.  But from arrogance and foolishness.  That is not कीर्तिमुख (glorious-face).  Its मूर्खमुख (foolish-face)!


how Mumbai Police Chief and India Today honchos humiliated themselves

India Today unraveled today.  It apparently broke a big scandal, complete with its correspondent running after Arnab’s car as he left for work to ask about that bizarre press conference that Mumbai Police Commissioner held.

The Mumbai police on Thursday claimed to have busted a Television Rating Points (TRP) manipulation racket, adding two persons have been arrested in the case.   Mumbai Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh said that the authorities are tightening its screws on an agency named 'Hansa', said to be associated with Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), which calculates the TRP. (Source)

All the dramatics were there!

Little did Rahul Kanwal, or that correspondent, know that Arnab was in a hurry to get to the office to cook their goose.

As Arnab started his show last evening, he brought out the original FIR which had named India Today, and not Republic TV.  The panel looked on shell-shocked!

No one knew what was going on?

How did the highest officer of Mumbai Police hold a complete Press Conference accusing someone who was not even in the First Information Report (FIR) filed with the police, as the main accused?!  Had the Commissioner forgotten how to even read an FIR?  Or was he just simply deranged and high on something!  What can explain such a public display of absolute incompetence!

The mystery of all this was solved by Minhaz Merchant.

So, the whole issue was turned around by sending a notice for inquiry for information on a channel that was not even in the FIR!  Here is that notice.

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It was not incompetence on part of Param Bir Singh.  It was a case of blatant collusion!

He was colluding with losers in media who couldn’t win any race in their lives while doing what he does best - frame the innocent and collude with the enemies of India!

Do remember that this Param Bir Singh is the same devil who tortured Sadhvi Pragya for 8 years while they were held in custody without any indictment.

“Khanvilkar, Parambir Singh, (late) Hemant Karkare - all men - tortured me. Never before or after Independence, a woman has been tortured like I have was,” Sadhvi Pragya said. (Source)

Just as he tortured Lt Col. Purohit.

Purohit details how along with Col. R K Srivastava, ATS Chief late Hemant Karkare, and the now Thane Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh IPS tortured and stripped and attacked at his private parts to confess and own up the responsibility of planting bombs and explosives used in Malegaon blast. The complaint of Purohit to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is a spine-chilling one, exposing how the Congress-led UPA regime tried to create a narration of Hindu Terror. (Source)

The Breaking India group is not backing down!  They are in an overdrive.  The question is - Who and what is giving them hope that they are ready to drive off the cliff in such a spectacular fashion?!  Do you see the power of the ecosystem - specifically the power brokers in the background?  The global human rights NGO, and political power brokers?!  And, the money and the global propaganda that backs it!

the daylong drama of collusion between the Police chief and losers

Throughout the day, while running this story, the channels were naming Republic TV as being under the radar.

Mumbai Police exposes racket to manipulate TRPs, two arrested; Republic TV on its radar

The real story - as Arnab broke and Minhaz clarified - was that India Today had sent its agents to bribe people to keep India Today on in their homes!

In a major revelation that counters Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh's allegations, Republic TV on Thursday accessed the FIR filed by the Mumbai Police on the complaint of Nitin Deokar, the Deputy General Manager of the Hansa Research Group Private Limited. This company is responsible for installing and maintaining the Bar-O-Meter of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). Arrested by the Mumbai Police, Vishal Bhandari- the Relationship Manager of the Hansa Research Group Private Limited has revealed that India Today and other channels instigated him and offered money to panel homes, where Bar-O-Meter is installed.  (Source)

Yes, channels are working to manipulate the TRPs, but the culprits are not those that Mumbai Police is so eager to nab to please its masters!  But those who they have been paying to carry their propaganda.

Of course, the feisty Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami has issued a statement and called out the shameless Mumbai Police Commissioner and his shenanigans!

“Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh has made false allegations against Republic TV because we have questioned him in the Sushant Singh Rajput case investigation. Republic TV will file a criminal defamation case against Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh. There is not a single BARC report that mentions Republic TV. The people of India know the truth. Mr. Param Bir Singh’s investigation in the Sushant Singh Rajput case is under a cloud and this is a desperate measure because of Republic TV’s reportage on Palghar, the Sushant Singh Rajput case or any other case. This kind of targeting only strengthens the resolve of everyone at Republic TV to push for the truth even harder. Param Bir Singh stands completely exposed today, since BARC has not mentioned Republic in any single complaint. He should issue an official apology and get ready to face us in court."

This man Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh cannot be trusted with such a major post in a city like Mumbai.

It is time for President’s rule in Maharashtra now.

A change is happening right in front of our eyes.  And Vivek Agnihotri puts it quite well.

fake news bust and fine

This has got to be unprecedented in terms of fake news busting!  The News Broadcasting Standard Authority (NBSA) has slapped a fine of Rs 1 lakh on AajTak, the Hindi-language news channel of the India Today group for telecasting fake tweets relating to actor late Sushant Singh Rajput.

This was the news item that is the main bone of contention here.

It is interesting that NBSA has pulled up other channels as well over their coverage of the Sushant Singh Rajput case.

Along with AajTak, the association also castigated channels like Zee News and News 24 for their coverage on Sushant Singh Rajput. The two media houses had used taglines like “7 questions on Sushant’s death”- “Patna ka Sushant, Mumbai me fail kyu?” and “Hey, why didn’t you watch your own film Sushant?” respectively. In view of the above, NBSA has decided that the broadcasters AajTak, Zee News and News 24 be directed to air an apology. (Source)

Here is the complete set of tweets. (Source)

Since there is really no code of conduct for the journalist - the Editors Guild is itself run by those who are masters at fake news - other bodies have to step in to ensure the sanctity of basic reporting itself.

Games between China and Taiwan on Indian media

Not fully happy with buying out the Indian media, the Chinese embassy threatened Indian media on any references to “National Day of Taiwan.”

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The way it plays around with the status of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Ladakh it is quite rich of the Chinese to demand that India agree to China’s One-China policy.

To this the reply from Taiwan foreign ministry was ver clear - GET LOST!  It appears that this was specifically shared on behalf of Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.

This sentiment was also reflected by the member of Parliament, Wang Ting-yu.

The time to rethink the “One China policy” by the Indian government has long been over.  It should be thrown into the garbage bin it deserves to be confined to.

nota bene

Indian Real Estate Market bouncing back?: The southern residential and the commercial market continues to lead the recovery in the Indian real estate sector with both average residential price and office rental seeing an upward trend, according to a Knight Frank report. The average residential prices in Q3 2020 registered a year – on – year (Y-o-Y) decline in the range of 3%-7% in six of the eight markets and Hyderabad and Bengaluru were the only markets that witnessed a price increment of 4%  (Source)

Herbal roads in UP: The UP government is constructing 175 herbal roads in the state.  More than 38,000 herbal and Ayurvedic plants of 30 species like Peepal, Neem, Tulsi, Giloy, Ashwagandha, Mentha, Lemon Grass, Bhringraj, Mui, Aonla, Brahmi, Tulsi, Anantmul, Gwarpath, Turmeric, and other Ayurvedic and herbal plants have been planted alongside roads. As many as 800 km of roads are covered under this project.  Some of the major roads that have been turned into herbal roads include the Chandrika Devi-BKT Kumharanwa Marg, the Gorakhpur-Deoria bypass, Prayagraj-Mirzapur road, Agra-Achnera road, Aligarh-Sidharpur road, Kaptanganj-Maharajganj road, Panchkosi Marg in Ayodhya, Gonda-Bahraich road, Jhansi-Unnao road and Moradabad-Lucknow highway.  The PWD Department will also make arrangements for a rain-water recharging system on these herbal roads.  (Source)

Pagan Temple found in Norway: The remains of a 1,200-year-old pagan temple to the Old Norse gods such as Thor and Odin have been discovered in Norway — a rare relic of the Viking religion built a few centuries before Christianity became dominant there.  Archaeologists say the large wooden building — about 45 feet (14 meters) long, 26 feet (8 m) wide, and up to 40 feet (12 m) high — is thought to date from the end of the eighth century and was used for worship and sacrifices to gods during the midsummer and midwinter solstices. (Source)

1500 birds smashed into skyscrapers in Pennsylvania: On Friday, an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 birds flew into buildings in a 3½-block radius of Center City (Philadelphia) overnight and into early morning during what Maciejewski called a “perfect storm” of avian calamity. That could mean thousands more likely perished elsewhere in the city, he estimated. He collected 400 birds between 5 and 8 a.m. in the radius he regularly covers roughly spanning 17th to 19th Streets between Market Street and JFK Boulevard — an astonishing number, according to an Audubon Pennsylvania official. (Source)

roasting Hollywood celebs

Certain things are meant to make you feel good.  This monolog from Ricky Gervais is really funny, where he roasts Jeffrey Epstein, Felicity Huffman, and most of the Hollywood elite, including Leonardo DiCaprio and of course, Apple TV with Tim Cook hapless looking on.

One part really takes the cake.

“If you do win an award, don’t make it as a platform to make a political speech - you are in no position to lecture the public about anything.  You know nothing about the real world. Most of you have spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg”

How one wishes that someone could tell the Bollywood holier-than-thous the exact same thing in exactly those words!

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